Sabine
by TaraCullen1
Summary: this is about Sabine and what happens after Sabine has become human.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It had been several months since the battle, leaving Sabine all alone with Ethan. Don't get her wrong, she knew that she should be grateful that she was human and with Ethan, the love of her life, but there was a part of her that missed her wolf-essence so much that it sent her spiraling into a depression so thick that even Ethan couldn't seem to shake her out of.

There were several times when Sabine would go back to Rowan Estate and just stare at the Elemental cross, which consisted of two swords that were sealed onto the wall—supposedly impossible for anyone, but the scion, to break free. This was where she happened to be, when her friend, Adne, came across her. Sabine hadn't even realized that Adne had entered the building, until she spoke in a hushed tone.

"I thought I might find you here," Adne whispered, breaking the thick silence and nearly scaring Sabine half to death. She couldn't help but feel annoyed that Adne had followed her here. She should be entitled to at least some privacy.

"Oh, are you following me now?" She snapped at Adne, who cringed at her tone of voice.

"I'm sorry," Adne quickly apologized. "I'm just worried about you," she murmured, stepping closer to her, placing her hand on Sabine's shoulder, which she shrugged off. When would dear, sweet, Adne get the picture that she wanted to be alone? Apparently never.

"And why should you be worried about me?" Sabine chuckled, her voice like ice. "Ethan sent you, didn't he?" That had to be the case. Ethan was no doubt making her do his dirty work so that he wouldn't get caught. Well, now, he should worry about his safety, 'cause Sabine was going to bite his head off.

"Don't be mad at me, please," begged, Adne. "You know that I think of you as a sister and you know that you can talk to me about anything, right?"

It was a sweet gesture on Adne's part, but it was a lot more difficult than that. Adne had never been a wolf, so she couldn't possibly understand how Sabine was feeling, which was empty and dead. Ethan should have made her feel alive, but after they took her wolf essence—which she volunteered to give to Ansel, who needed it more than she did—she couldn't seem to shake this feeling of loneliness away. Well, for awhile she was fine and was loving her new life as a human, but something changed inside of her, something snapped, and she wasn't sure why.

"I appreciate the offer, Adne, I really do, but I'm afraid it doesn't quite work that way. I hope you can understand." By the look Adne had given her, it was clear that she did not understand.

"Why ever not?" Adne questioned, sticking out her lower lip in a pout. As if that would work on Sabine? No, no a thousand times no! She was not going to fall for that crap again. But of course, Adne wasn't going to stop persisting. "Please, talk to me, Sabine. I hate seeing you suffer like this. I thought that you were happy with the decision you made—happy with Ethan?"

Crap! Was Sabine really that obvious to everyone? If Adne had figured it out so quickly, had everyone else too? She was going to have to try and work on that and keep her face free of any emotion. What Adne had said was true though, she was happy with Ethan, as she stated earlier. There was nothing in the world that made her happier—well, almost nothing. Nothing could ever beat the feeling of having your wolf senses take over. It was where she felt free and could be herself.

At the time she sacrificed her wolf-essence, she thought it was the best thing that anyone could do for someone and Ansel deserved some happiness in his life—everyone did, but she was slowly starting to change her mind and regreting her decision, but there was nothing that she could do about it now. "You think I'm in pain?" She inquired with a wince, her voice shaky. If she wasn't careful, she was going to be yelling and screaming and there wouldn't be anything anyone could do to stop her.

Adne nodded, hesitating just a little. She probably was afraid of how Sabine would react. "It's as clear as the day on your face. You miss being a wolf. Don't try to deny it."

Well duh, she did, but there was nothing anyone could do about it. Maybe, if she could tear the Elemental cross from its place, but that didn't seem very likely to ever happen, seeing as Anika clearly stated that the Scion—Shay—would be the only person who would be able to dismount it. She for one, didn't think that was the case. She had a slight feeling that Anika and everyone else had made that stuff up, just scare off anyone who would try to do so.

In her mind, it was all a big show, and all she would have to do, was reach up and pull it off its mantle. She couldn't help but stare at the cross, as Adne continued talking to her, though she wasn't paying the slightest attention to Adne—who was getting extremely frustrated at her.

"Are you even listening to me?" Adne shrieked, clearly annoyed at Sabine.

"What was that?" She asked, still not fully in the conversation.

"I said, you should come home with me. Anika has prepared a special dinner," she explained, eyeing her curiously, as she realized what Sabine was planning on doing.

"I'm not hungry," she told Adne truthfully. She hadn't had much of an appetite lately.

"Alright, fine. If I tell you this, you have to promise me that you'll act surprised later." Oh, crap. What on earth could this possibly be about? Sabine hated surprises and was not in the mood. She would much rather sit in the darkness and sulk over what she couldn't have. But if it were to get Adne off her case for awhile, then maybe she should play along with her.

"Just spill it out, Adne. What kind of surprise are you talking about?"

Her eyes widened with delight and looked as happy as a kid on the Fourth of July. Maybe it was a good thing that she was playing along. "Well, don't be mad at me 'kay?" Oh, no, this could not be good! "Well, I kind of accidently let it slip to Anika that it was your birthday today."

Accidently let it slip? How was that even possible, when she wasn't even supposed to know when her birthday was? Sabine certainly hadn't told her. The only people who knew, were her former packmates and there was no way anyone of them could have told. Unless…the only plausible explanation was that Ethan had told Adne. Sabine should have kept her big stupid mouth shut and none of this would be happening right now.

"Why would you go and do something like that?" She hissed at Adne.

"Because," she explained. "It's about time that you had some fun in your life. All you do is sit and mope about and I'm sick of it." Well, she didn't exactly have to sit and watch her. Sabine had every right to mope. If Adne had been in her shoes, Sabine was pretty sure that she would be acting the exact same way.

"Who died and made you my mother?" Sabine snapped, turning hesitantly away from the rift. She would have to come back another day, when Adne would not be with her.

It was clear that Adne didn't appreciate being talked down upon like that. She sat down with a huff, and crossed her right leg over her left knee, folding her arms against her chest. "Fine," she grumbled. "But you're going to have to explain to Anika why her food will go to waste, though I'm sure Connor will eat more than his share of the food." She smiled at the thought.

Sabine frowned in complete annoyance, having no choice but to comply with Adne, as much as she hated the thought of leaving the Estate. Who knew how long it would be before she could come back. She was going to figure out how to become a wolf again, even if it was the last thing she ever did. "If I find out that Ethan is the one who told you when my birthday was, there's going to be hell to pay and a serious pounding."

A smile formed in the corners of Adne's face. She appeared to enjoy hearing me talk about torturing my boyfriend. "Glad to have you back," she snickered, as she stood up and placed her arms around Sabine, in a friendly hug.

Just because she was making jokes about Ethan, did not mean that she was "back," as Adne so lightly put it, but she did feel a little lighter—mood-wise. She then realized that maybe she had been a little harsh with Adne, who was only trying to be a good friend. "Hey," Sabine murmured, as they stepped through the portal. "Thanks for coming to get me today and I'm sorry that I snapped at you earlier."

Adne grinned again, turning to me, leaning her head on my shoulder. "It's okay. There's no need to apologize. I know you're going through a hard time right now. You just have to know that you're never alone. You have me, Ethan and Connor, if you ever need to talk, 'kay? Just promise me that you won't shut us you. You need us."

She was right. Sabine did need them, more than she ever realized. She just failed to notice it at the time.

Adne and Sabine had stepped through the portal and back into the academy. Adne closed the portal door and turned her attention back to Sabine, placing a hand on her shoulder, no doubt she was getting ready to lecture her on her past behaviors. "Now, you promised that you would act surprised. You read for this?" She asked.

Ready to be humiliated from a surprise birthday part, that was no longer a surprise? Of course not. She'd never be ready, but what choice did she have? None, nada, zilch. She simply had to go with the flow and suffer through it. "No, but I see I have no choice but to go along with you, so let's just go and get this over with," Sabine begged, putting her depression aside and replacing it with a happy face.

"Geez, don't look too excited," Adne scoffed. Apparently Sabine couldn't even be happy—great. She could only hope that this party would go by fast.

"Sorry," Sabine muttered, trying to smile even more.

Sabine took three deep breaths as Adne opened the door to the kitchen and was bombarded by people who were all yelling, "Surprise!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Sabine put on the happiest face that she could, even so, Adne wasn't buying it and she smacked her on the back of the head, just as Ethan came up to them and enveloped her in a huge bear hug, nearly cutting off her air supply. "Happy birthday," he sang, giving her a peck on the cheek, as to not embarrass her in front of the others.

She couldn't help but smile at Ethan and be annoyed at him at the same time. Sabine pinched him playfully on the arm. "I can't believe you told everyone that it was my birthday."

He shrugged apologetically. "I just can't believe that there's anyone in the world who doesn't like celebrating birthdays. That is just not normal." Well, sorry to burst his bubble, but for this chick, it was a very normal thing. She didn't mind the presents, who wouldn't, it was just that everyone went overboard trying their hardest to be nice to you, even if you didn't like the person. Why not be nice every day, instead of just on birthdays? The world would be a better place.

"Well believe it," she murmured, folding her arms against her chest, trying to ignore the fact that Connor had come up beside her and started dancing some kind of jig and singing very badly off key. Couldn't he see that she was talking with Ethan? Oh what she wouldn't give for a moment's silence. Her head felt like it was about to split open at any moment. "Connor, that's enough!" She grumbled, pushing him to the side.

"Sabine, what's wrong?" Inquired Ethan, who was helping Adne pick Connor up off the floor. What was wrong was the useless idiots trying to make her happy. Okay, so maybe they weren't useless and they weren't idiots. They were the closest thing that she had to family.

Anika had noticed Sabine pushing Connor and she came over to see what all the commotion was. "Is there a problem over here?" She asked, looking only at Sabine, who couldn't help but shrink into Ethan. Anika wasn't a bad lady by any means, but there were times when she scared the heck out of her.

"I'm sorry," Sabine moped. "I didn't mean to ruin the party. I'm just not in a very good mood right now. I know you guys are just trying to help, but it's actually making things ten times worse."

Instead of the scolding that Sabine figured was coming, Anika wrapped an arm around her shoulder and squeezed gently. "Would you like to talk about it? I find that if you talk about your problems, it tends to help immensely. So, spill it. I'm all ears. What's on your mind?"

Did Anika actually think that it would help to talk about this to her? Ha! Heck no. If anything, this would be a terrible thing to talk about, seeing as it had everything to do with the Elemental cross. And Sabine was pretty sure that if Anika were to ever find out what she was planning on doing, she would no doubt lock Sabine up for the rest of her life and that would not be good. If she was locked up, she wouldn't have any chance of ever becoming a wolf again and that was something that she wasn't okay with.

"It's a sweet offer, Anika, and I appreciate the kindness more than you could ever know, but this is something I cannot talk about." Sabine paused and realized that everyone in the room was staring at her. No doubt they were all wondering why she would ruin a perfectly good party. This was the last straw for Sabine, she simply couldn't stand it any longer. "Thank you for the party, Anika and I'm sorry that I ruined it for you, but I must take my leave." Without another word, Sabine turned and started walking out of the room, leaving everybody with their mouths hanging wide open.

It only took Ethan about half a second to shake his head and clear his thoughts, before he realized that Sabine had left the room. "Sabine, wait," he called after her, catching up quickly. Sabine was very surprised by how quickly he recovered. She half expected him to take a little longer. "What the hell do you think you are doing?" Sabine wasn't used to Ethan talking to her like that—cussing. She was determined not to let it get to her, but unfortunately, it already had. She was definitely going to have to talk to Ethan about not cussing at her. Ethan, however, continued talking before she had the chance to mention it. "Do you want to explain to me why you're running out on a perfectly good party?" She should have known that someone was going to question her about it.

Did she want to explain to him that she was planning on leaving everybody? Heck no! But it was only a matter of time before Ethan would no doubt figure it out. He was a smart boy and not much got past him. She was also pretty sure that the party would continue to go on just fine without her. She may have been the birthday girl, but that didn't matter. "Just leave me be, Ethan. I'm begging you."

"I don't think so," he hissed, pulling her back by the arm so that she couldn't get away, which for some reason, really bothered her. She wasn't used to being held back by anything. "What has gotten into you lately? It's like you've been ignoring me and I can't even talk to you anymore." He pulled his hand up to Sabine's cheek, who cringed slightly. She was certain that he was going to strike her—though he never had before—but he surprised her by cupping her cheek, rubbing his thumb in small, soothing, circular motions. If it had been any other time, she would have relished in his tenderness, but right now, it was just annoying. "I'm worried about you."

Join the club. Sabine thought dryly. Apparently, so was everyone else in the academy and they were all determined to let her know about it too. She was pretty sure that within the past fourty-eight hours, everyone had managed to corner her and tell her so. Ethan was the last one to say something. She couldn't help but sigh in relief that there was no one else on the list, unless they got Tess and the rest of the staff to help with that too. "You're not the only one," she mumbled, trying to break free from his grasp.

"You don't have to do this alone you know," Ethan stated. Ugh…these people were never going to learn, were they? She had to do this alone. It didn't concern anyone of them.

"Actually, Ethan, I do. I love you, I really do and you mean the world to me, but please will you let this one go? I just need to be by myself for a bit. Is that too much to ask for?" Apparently, it was. She should have known that she wouldn't have been granted this one wish. She didn't ask for much at the academy. They could at least comply with her. If only she had a Genie in a bottle, surely he would grant her the wish. She thought about that for a moment and decided that even a Genie would probably be against her on this. It wouldn't surprise her.

"We're a couple now, Sabine. You made that decision when you gave Ansel your wolf-essence and decided to stay here with me. Well, I'd like to tell you something. Couples stick together, even for the bad parts. I want to help you," he brought his voice down to a whisper, though it still echoed loudly through the halls. It wouldn't surprise Sabine if the others were listening in on their conversation. She couldn't help but shutter at the thought.

Maybe, eventually, Ethan could help her and she would welcome it with open arms, but not for this one. She had to do this alone. In no way did she want to get anyone in trouble, especially Ethan. He meant too much to her for his life to be thrown away in the blink of an eye. "Please, Ethan," she begged through gritted teeth, which were actually starting to hurt from the amount of pressure she was putting on them, to keep from lashing out. "Just . Let. Me. Go!"

Ethan's face fell, as she said that. Clearly she had said the wrong thing. She only wanted to go to her room and conjure up a plan. After all, he had this coming to himself, when he came after her. "What do you mean, let you go?" His voice cracked at the word "go," and he was so quiet that Sabine had to strain her ears to be able to hear him.

Her eyes widened with horror as she suddenly understood Ethan's change in tone and fear. She had to slap herself mentally, for being so stupid. He probably took what she said as to break up with him. That wasn't what she meant, by any means. She had to clarify that was not the case. "I meant, just let me go to my room. What did you think it meant?" She asked curiously, her heart pounding wildly in her ears.

Ethan sighed as she said that and his face began to relax, though his body began trembling. Sabine quickly wrapped her arms around him, to reassure him that she still loved him and would always love him, no matter what happened. "Nothing," he murmured, though he seemed to be having a rather difficult time talking. How stupid was she to think that she could get away with doing this, without hurting anyone in the process. "I'm sorry," he apologized. Sorry? What had he done to be sorry for? He was just trying to be a good boyfriend and Sabine couldn't fault him for that. Without another word, Ethan leaned in and kissed Sabine passionately, she accepted it without any hesitation.

They hadn't been kissing for long, before someone's footsteps echoed through the hallway, coming straight for them. "Are you two done with your make-out session yet?" Connor asked, clearing his throat. No doubt Connor was plotting ways in which to make fun of them for this.

"What do you want?" Ethan questioned, annoyed by the untimely interruption. To tell you the truth, so was Sabine. It was like everyone was flies on the wall, listening to her every word, just waiting for her to say the wrong thing.

Connor raised his hands in a surrendering position, as he came into view, telling them that he hadn't come for a fight, though Sabine didn't believe that for a second. He was probably afraid that Ethan was going to pummel him to a pulp—definitely something to be afraid of. "Relax, bro. I'm come in peace," he chuckled, as he formed his right fingers into the peace sign. "I bring you good tidings of great joy." Connor couldn't seem to stop laughing at his own lame joke.

Now, Sabine was the one who wanted to pound him to the ground. She had never been a big fan of his jokes. They annoyed the crap out of her and if all he came here to do, was make stupid jokes, well he could go right back where he came from. That would be just fine with Sabine. "Dude, I'm not really in the mood for your jokes today," Sabine grumbled.

"No kidding," he chuckled, though one glare from Sabine and he immediately shut up. "Sorry, sorry," he muttered, pausing for a second. He was probably wondering if telling Sabine this would be a good idea or not. He shrugged and went right on talking, keeping his distance from her just in case—smart man. "Anika sent me to come get you two. She wants to cut the cake and is get a little anxious. Sabine, if you want to get on her good side, then I suggest you come along as quickly as you can. You haven't seen her angry and you really don't want to."

Actually, that wasn't true. Sabine had seen Anika angry, a couple of times. Once, when Connor had snuck into her office to get her password book, so that he could get on the computer. Apparently, Anika didn't want anyone communicating with the outside world. Everything here was passcode encrypted and there was only one phone in the entire academy and that was also locked away in her office, though Sabine didn't understand what was so wrong about phones. Thankfully, Anika didn't know about her own cell phone, which she kept safely hidden in her room, though she didn't why she kept it; considering the fact that all her friends and family were wolves now. It was still nice to have one thing from home.

The other time that Sabine had seen Anika angry, was when Ethan tried taking Sabine's shirt off. They had been out in the garden at the time, and they had thought they were alone. Neither of them realized that Anika was tending to her plants. She shrieked loudly when she spotted them and gave a scolding that neither of them would ever forget. Poor Ethan was scarred for life when she took her own blouse off in front of them, demonstrating the fact that not everybody wanted to see people naked. Ethan agreed that it was disgusting.

Ever since then, Ethan confined them to his bedroom or Sabine's. Like on that particular day, it was a rarity that they kissed out in public, just in case things started to escalate, though they never did. She supposed that it was for the best. Sabine didn't want to risk getting pregnant anyway. She was only sixteen and definitely not ready to become a mother, even if Ethan was ready to be a father.

Anika's good side was definitely a place she wanted to stay. Well, so much for trying to come up with a plan to pull the Elemental cross from its place. She thought bitterly to herself, as she hesitantly followed behind Connor.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The small group had reached the room again, the party still in full speed. Sabine was grateful that they hadn't been missed. Or had they? She couldn't quite tell by the looks on everyone's faces, because they were all smooth, blank, and free of any emotion; except for the excitement from the party.

Anika had noticed their return and glided over to them from her corner. "Glad to see you've changed your mind and decided to come back." Sabine whipped her head to Connor, who quickly made his way to Adne, to no doubt use her as a shield. Had Anika even sent him to come get her? He probably had made all of that up. Oh, he was surely going to get it now. This meant war. "We were just getting ready to cut the cake. Come along, the guest of honor must do the pleasure." Anika grabbed her hand firmly and pulled her along. Sabine couldn't help but cast more evil glances at Connor, who still had his hands held up in the peace sign.

Adne noticed Sabine staring at Connor and she pushed him into the wall, talking in frantic whispers. Regrettably, Sabine couldn't make out a word that she was saying, though she did enjoy watching Connor cringe into the wall, every time that Adne spoke. Good, serves him right for lying. Maybe, he would learn his lesson after this, but she doubted it. This was Connor they were talking about, after all. No doubt he would come up with another way to piss Sabine off, with that mischievous mind of his.

"Ladies and gentleman," Anika sang, clapping her hands together, trying to gain everyone's attention. "May I have your attention please?" At that instruction, the room fell quiet—all eyes upon Anika and Sabine. She couldn't help but feel slightly nervous with everyone watching, but she kept her face as smooth as possible. Anika cleared her throat and continued talking. "Thank you all so much for coming today and for making this day so very special for Sabine. Now, before our guest of honor tries to run for it, again, let's get her to cut the cake, shall we?" There was applause and cheering coming from everyone, and Sabine's pulse sped up. She was on the verge of passing out from humiliation—she didn't do very well in front of crowds, even though it was a small crowd. "Before you cut the cake, is there anything you'd like to say, Sabine?"

Really? Anika was asking if she wanted to say anything? There were several things that Sabine wanted to say like, why wouldn't they leave her alone and to stop following her around wherever she went. But, she figured that none of these things were what Anika wanted to hear, so she kept those thoughts to herself. Passing out was definitely becoming more of a reality.

Sabine gulped several times, trying to unstick her throat, which was unusually dry. "Thank you Anika," she squeaked. "For those kind words. I'm sorry that I ran out earlier. Now, how 'bout that cake?" She added, unable to think of anything else to say. Giving speeches was a forte of hers.

More cheers erupted, as Anika smiled and handed her a rather large knife. Sabine couldn't help but gulp, as she took the knife from Anika and stared at the thing. For a brief second, Sabine thought about plunging the knife inside her and end everything right then. But she figured that wouldn't score points with anyone and it wouldn't help her to become a wolf again. No, everything she had worked for—and had—would all be wasted. Sabine couldn't do that to herself.

Instead of plunging the knife in her chest, Sabine plunged it into the cake, cutting out a small piece and placed it onto the glass plate, which Anika had given her, trying to ignore the warning bells that were going off in her head, indicating that she may need help after all—considering the fact that she almost tried to kill herself.

She set the cake on the glass plate with shaking hands, Anika eying her curiously. 'Are you alright?' She mouthed.

Sabine nodded, but knew that wasn't true. She was not okay. She took a couple deep gulps of air and stumbled her way towards Ethan. He was right, when he mentioned that she needed his help, and collapsed into his arms. Ethan barely caught her before she started sobbing hysterically into his shirt. "Sabine?" He panicked, setting them down on the ground and rocked her back and forth. "What's wrong, baby? You're scaring me." She felt bad that she was worrying him, but there was nothing she could do about it. She felt safe in his arms and just prayed that he wouldn't let go of her. She was a fool for sure. "Answer me right now," Ethan shrieked, trying to get her to look up at him. "Do not tell me you're fine, because I know for a fact that you are not fine. No more lame excuses."

Wiping her tears with the edge of his shirt, Sabine shook her head; unable to stop hiccupping. It was getting really annoying. "Not here, Ethan please," she sniffed, as Ethan nodded and stood up, helping her to her feet in the process. 'Keep your head low and only look at Ethan.' She recited to herself, as they slowly started making their way out of the room. She might be able to breathe normally again, once they were safely away from everybody. She could feel everyone in the room glaring daggers at her, and that made her rather uncomfortable.

Thankfully, nobody stopped them to question her, the crazy girl, and they were able to make their way to Sabine's room where they were finally able to be alone. Once behind closed doors, Sabine collapsed into Ethan's arms again.

Ethan murmured soft whispers into her ears, saying things like how much he loved her and that everything was going to be okay—only Sabine didn't know that for certain. Ethan pressed his cheek against hers and rubbed his whiskers on her face, tickling her slightly. "Okay," he murmured, breaking the silence. "We're alone. I assume that's what you wanted, right?" Sabine nodded into his arms, at the question. "Okay, then what happened in there?"

How did one go about telling her boyfriend that, just a few short moments ago, she considered taking her life in front of a room full of people, in front of their friends no less? "It's awful," Sabine sobbed, unable to actually say that she was suicidal. No doubt after hearing that, Ethan would tell Anika, who in return, would ship her down to the dungeons or maybe cart her off to a psyche ward. "You'll think I'm crazy." Actually, he probably already does think that.

A shocked hiss came from Ethan's lips. "Don't be stupid, Sabine. You're not crazy."

If she wasn't crazy, then why was she so determined to get her wolf-essence back? That was pretty darn crazy. "You say that now, but you'll change your mind. They always do." Sabine paused for a long time before saying anything else, trying to work up the courage to say what she had to. Okay, here goes, she thought dryly, as she sat up so that she could see Ethan better. "Anyway, before I sliced the cake, I seriously thought about driving that knife through my heart, instead of the cake." She paused to see what Ethan's reaction would be.

At first, his face remained free of any emotion, then, he frowned. See, she knew that he would change his mind about her, that's the way it always happens. "I don't understand something." Oh, great, here it goes. "You love me, right?" Sabine nodded her head, a little unsure of where he was going with all of this. "Well then, why the hell would you throw it all away, just like that? Are you really trying to tell me something and this was the only way to get my attention? Well let me tell you something. You're freaking stuck with me, so you're going to have to deal with it, got it?"

Again, Ethan had cussed at her. That was the second time in one day. Enough was enough. "Hey, I really don't appreciate getting cussed at like that. Please don't ever cuss at me again. I'm a human being, not some kind of animal or toy without any sort of feelings." Sabine took a deep breath. There, it was good to get that off her chest.

"Screw that. I have every right to be angry with you. You're the one who tried to take your life away from me. How am I supposed to cope with something like that?" Ethan let out a long sigh, trying to calm himself, as he began caressing her head. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Sabine. You're my world, my whole life. I love you so very much."

Sabine started sobbing again, as he said that. She really didn't deserve him. He deserved better, someone whole, someone who didn't live in a world of depression. She decided that it was over, for now. Ethan deserved a fair shot and she was going to give it to him. Her master plan was going to have to wait for awhile. At least, until Ethan forgets that she told him this. And she prayed to God that he kept his mouth shut.

"I'm sorry about everything," she apologized, kissing him on his lips, which felt like a soft velvet against her own.

No more was said after that, but Ethan and Sabine were tangled in each other's arm. She couldn't help but stare intently into his eyes. Ethan nodded at her, her eyes asking the question which she's so been longing to ask. She was ready to be with him again, it really had been too long.

Not hesitating a moment longer, Sabine reached down and pulled his shirt over his head. The shirt got stuck at his ears, but she managed to get it off. Ethan then took his turn, effortlessly taking her own shirt off. It went like that, one after the other, until all their clothing was sprawled out all over the floor.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Sabine woke about an hour before the sun, though she never technically fell asleep. Her thoughts were all muddy, but she quickly recovered and couldn't help but stare at Ethan, who was still sound asleep, for several long moments. She thought about waking him, so that he could hold her and comfort her like he had done for so long last night, but she quickly cast that thought away. He looked so peaceful that she hated the thought of having to disturb him.

Silently and carefully, as to not wake him, she slipped out from under the covers and tip-toed across the room, picking up her clothes that were strewn all across the floor. She couldn't help but giggle at the thought—that they were very messy people, but she could care less. As long as she was with Ethan that was what mattered.

She made her way, sneakily, to the bathroom which she shared with Adne, and prayed to God that she wasn't there. No doubt that she would jump on her case about what happened the night before. Sabine was, by no means, ready to talk about it. She crossed her fingers and sighed a sigh of relief when she realized that the bathroom was Adne free.

After stripping all her clothes off and putting them in a heap on the floor, she turned and looked at herself in the mirror, and couldn't help but shudder slightly, as she stared at the image that reflected back at her. Who was this girl? Sabine thought, bitterly. She hardly even recognized herself. She definitely wasn't the same person she was, six months ago. She was actually quite pale and thin, very thin. It was true that she hadn't been eating much.

She stared at her naked-self for several more moments and began to wonder, was getting her wolf-essence back, that important? Would it kill her to actually live a nice human life with Ethan? She had to think about it. No, it probably wouldn't kill her, but her wolf-essence was a part of her that she couldn't give up so easily. It was a hard thing to explain. Shrugging it off, Sabine turned the shower on and stepped inside, trying to wash away all hints of last night's embarrassing episode. Today was a new day and she was determined to not let anything get to her. It was all she could do.

The warm shower was just what she needed to clear her head. She walked to the kitchen in a better mood that she had been in a long time. It was nice to feel happy again, or mostly happy, and she hoped that no one would put a damper on her spirits today. No doubt though, Connor would try to upset her. He always found a way to set her teeth on edge.

Unfortunately, when she got to the kitchen for breakfast, she wasn't alone. Anika had herself propped on a stool at the counter, eating her own breakfast. Sabine couldn't help but think how much Anika looked like a small child right then, sitting with her feet dangling to the floor, chattering away with one of the chefs. It was the chef who spotted her standing a few feet away.

"Ah, Miss Sabine. What a pleasure seeing you this morning." Anika whipped her head around to face her, as he said that. "Can I fix you anything for breakfast?"

Sabine smiled at him. She liked Jean-Paul. He had always been so nice to her and would always make anything she asked for, no matter how late it was, whenever she did decide to eat. "Thank you kindly," she thanked him, as she walked up to the counter and pulled herself up onto the stool, sitting next to Anika. "If you don't mind, I'd like two eggs, sunny side up, and some toast."

"Two eggs, sunny side up with toast, coming right up, Miss Sabine," he chuckled, heading over to the stove."

She rested her elbow on the counter and pressed her cheek to her hand, trying to ignore the fact that Anika was still sitting next to her. "And how are you this morning, my dear?" Anika chirped.

A sigh escaped her mouth; she couldn't help but feel annoyed at Anika for interrupting her happiness. "I'm fine, Anika. I promise."

"You didn't look fine last night," she noted, biting on a bagel with cream cheese.

Ugh…please drop this, Sabine thought dryly. She had a weak moment last night. She slipped up. It was something that she promised herself that she'd never do again, that was for certain. People were now probably calling her crazy—just what she needed. "I wasn't feeling very well yesterday, but Ethan helped me to get through it. I'm sorry that I ruined the party."

Anika eyed her up and down, making Sabine ever more uncomfortable. She couldn't help but squirm in her seat, sure that Anika was no doubt going to pry it out of her. Thankfully, Anika did no such thing. She simply scooted herself closer to Sabine and wrapped her arms around Sabine, in a comforting way. "As long as you're telling me the truth. I hate to think that you're not happy here. Sometimes, I see the way you act and it makes me question myself. Like, is it something I have said or done to make you so upset? You are like family to us all here and I want you to know that you can talk to me about anything."

That was pretty much the exact same thing that Adne had told her. Except, it wasn't true. Sabine could not talk to them about everything, no matter how much they tried to pry it out of her. Some things were better off just left on the shelf, where only she would be able to get them, if needed be. "You all have been so kind to me and I appreciate it more than you can ever imagine, but some things I just need to deal with myself." Like, how to get those darn swords off its mantle.

Jean-Paul had returned with her food just then, and she was too distracted by eating the extremely yummy food. Jean-Paul was an incredible cook. She was going to miss him, when she leaves this place—if she ever does. She then thought about that for a moment, she might have to kidnap Jean-Paul and take him home with her so that he could cook for her. Though, hopefully, she would be able to convince him enough so that she wouldn't be pressed with kidnapping charges.

Either Anika had gotten annoyed by her not saying anything else, or she forgot what they were talking about, Anika got up from her stool and left the room. Sabine couldn't have been any happier, though she was pretty sure that this conversation wasn't over. Anika wasn't one to let things just hang in the air. She would no doubt find her later and corner Sabine, so that she couldn't escape and make her talk about it.

Anyways, after breakfast, Sabine made her way to the third floor balcony, where she was sure she'd be alone. She was pretty sure that she was the only one to go up there, she never saw anyone. She liked to go up to the balcony to either paint or write. It was so peaceful. She never used to paint, before she came here, nothing ever seemed to inspire her, but here, there was the ocean and all the trees surrounding them and then there were the beautiful sunrises and sunsets. What better scenery than that? She loved to write too, mostly poetry, depressing poetry by that, but nonetheless, it was writing and she was happy to be doing it.

Finding a nice corner that over looked the ocean, Sabine leaned against the side of the building and tilted her face upward, letting the morning sun soak into her pores. The perfect morning. "Are you meditating?" A voice rang, interrupting her peacefulness. Ugh…when was she ever going to be left alone?

Not having any other choice, she opened her eyes, expecting it to be Ethan. It wasn't. It was a young boy, about eleven or twelve. Sabine had only seen him a few times about the Academy. She thought his name was Jonas or Jonathan or something like that. She did know it started with a J. "No," she murmured. "Just soaking in the sun."

He smiled, as he came up and sat down next to Sabine. Well, it looked like she wasn't going to get any writing done here, unless the boy got up and left right then, but the way that the boy was positioned, made it seem like he was here to stay. "I see you've found my hiding spot," he chuckled, his dimples showing, lighting up his freckled face.

What did he mean by his hiding spot? This was hers and no one else's! Okay, so maybe she was being a bit selfish, but like she mentioned earlier, it was a place where she could be alone, well, most of the time. "This is my hiding spot, boy," she grumbled, as she placed her notebook on the ground beside her.

The boy shook his head, his red hair blowing in the slight breeze. "That's where you're wrong, Miss Sabine." Okay, that was surprising to her. How did he know her name, when she couldn't even remember his name? "I've been coming up here long before you arrived here. So, technically, it's my hiding place. But because I think you're nice, I'll share it with you, but only you."

Sabine couldn't help but smile at the boy after he said that. She couldn't believe that she'd never actually met him before. And one thing was for certain, she was going to have to find out what his name was. She couldn't very well just keep calling him, "the boy," that was just silly. "Why thank you for the generosity kind sir," she grinned back at him, as she cleared her throat. She was really embarrassed about having to ask him this. "You're probably going to think I'm crazy," well, along with everyone else, he probably already thought that. "It's just, I can't seem to remember your name." Sabine felt so bad.

The boy was a champ, though, and simply shrugged it off with a wave of his hand. "Well, that's understandable, seeing as we've never actually met." Sabine let out a sigh of relief, thankful that he wasn't mad at her. "I'm Jordan," he smiled, producing his hand out, presumingly, so that Sabine could shake it.

Sabine happily took his hand and shook it enthusiastically. Jordan! How could she have not remembered that? Her next door neighbor—back home—had a son named Jordan. In fact, he was around the same age. What a coincidence. "So, Jordan, it's nice to officially make your acquaintance

**Ann: Hey **guys, so I was kind of wondering what you all thought of this. Is this even worth continuing to put up on ? Let me know. Reviews would be nice, thanks.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

They sat like that for a long time, Sabine and Jordan, talking about the quiet things in life, all the places they'd like to visit before they died. Sabine found out that Jordan was obsessed with the Roman culture and that he wanted to go visit the Roman Empire someday. She was quite impressed with Jordan; he was very smart for a boy of eleven, and he sure knew his history. Sabine was in high school, or had been before all this in high school, and she didn't know half the things that he knew.

After wrapping up their conversation, she spotted Jordan glancing at the notebook, ever so often. She couldn't help but be nervous at the thought that he was going to pick up her notebook and read her life story. It was definitely not something that she wanted read by other people. Weren't journals supposed to be private? It was kind of funny, she was about to call it a diary, but she quickly changed her mind, saying how diaries were for young girls—and she was not a young girl.

Surprising her, by doing what she so feared, Jordan snatched up her notebook—her heartbeat speeding up—and began flipping through its pages, where she kept her darkest secrets. No, she wasn't ready for them to be discovered, but what choice did she have? "What's this?" He grinned. "Do you actually carry around a diary?"

Sabine couldn't help but feel annoyed at Jordan for calling it a diary. "It's not a diary," she murmured, with clenched teeth, as she tried to grab the journal from Jordan, but he had a firm grip on it and quickly moved it out of arms reach. "Give it back!"

Oh little boy, how little do you know how much of a pester you are being. Sabine thought dryly. "Not so fast," Jordan objected, flipping to a page and pausing to read it. It was strange that Sabine's, already fast pulse, kept quickening. It shouldn't bother her like this, but it did. She couldn't help but pray that the entry he was reading wasn't about how she was trying to get out of here. By the look on Jordan's face, she was unsure of what he was reading—his face was free of any emotion. All of a sudden, he flicked his eyes up at her. "What's this?" He questioned, showing her the book. "Are you planning on leaving us, Sabine? What is the Elemental cross?"

She let out a loud hiss and managed to pluck the journal from his grasp and hug it to her chest tightly. This was all happening way too fast. No one was supposed to know about her plans. That was what journals were for, right? A place to keep your most inner, private thoughts—away from prying eyes of the public. Now, regrettably, that was no longer true. Someone had found out. What was she supposed to do now? She couldn't very well just go off and tell an eleven year old boy everything. No doubt he would go telling everybody at the academy. Sabine would then be forced to leave.

If she did tell him, she'd then be forced to kill the boy. He was too much of a liability. She couldn't risk it. She regretted the thought of having to kill Jordan, though, because she was actually quite fond of him. It was as if Jordan was a long lost brother. No, she couldn't kill him, unless it was absolutely necessary. "Listen, Jordan. You have to forget everything you saw in this book. It's just a story that I was working on." Please believe me. Sabine thought, crossing her fingers.

Jordan looked at her like he couldn't believe that she was telling him that ridiculous story. Of course, Jordan would never believe such a thing. He was too smart a boy. "Don't give me that, Sabine." Apparently, he dropped the miss in front of her name and he felt like he could call her just Sabine. Weirdly enough, Sabine was actually okay with him calling her that. It was as if they had known each other for years. "I know you're planning on doing something drastic. Why don't you tell me what it is and maybe, I can help you."

It was a kind offer indeed, but how could an eleven year old help her, except by getting in the way. Now, Sabine had to try and figure out how she was going to let him down, without hurting him too much. "I appreciate the offer, Jordan. I really do, but I can't let you help me. This is something I have to do by myself. Not for eleven year olds."

Jordan's eyes widen as she said that. "Aha! So, it wasn't a story. I don't understand why you won't let me help you," he grumbled, folding his arms against his chest. "Two people are much better than one and you know that."

That may have been true, but what did Jordan know about fighting, if it came down to it? He was only eleven, for crying out loud! No doubt he would find a way to get himself killed. Then Sabine would feel guilty for the rest of her life. No, she couldn't bring an eleven year old into this. It wasn't worth the risk. "That may be true, in most cases, but not this one. You're too young and besides, your parents would miss you. What am I supposed to tell them if you were to get hurt? I'm sorry, but no. It's too much of a risk, Jordan."

Anger flashed in Jordan's eyes, as Sabine told him that. "How do you know I can't fight, huh? You've never seen what I can do. I've lived at the academy most of my life, training." That still didn't mean that Sabine could risk his life, just like that. "And you're wrong you know. My parents wouldn't miss me, because I don't have any parents."

Didn't have any parents? The poor boy. Sabine let herself sympathize over that for a moment, before she began to wonder about something. Was Jordan simply telling her this because it would help her to change her mind about letting him come? No, she wasn't going to fall for that trick so easily. Though, Jordan's eyes did sadden as he told her that. It was almost enough to get her to say yes, but she quickly shook her head, clearing her thoughts. "How dare you use that on me!" She shrieked at him.

Immediately, Jordan's eyes began to fill up with tears. Oh, great, here we go. Another trick no doubt. "You think I'm making this up?" He sobbed. Great, now she was the bad guy. Just perfect. "Why would I make something like that up? I sure as heck don't want any sympathy." Jordan spat on the ground in anger, and went to stand up.

Sabine grabbed him by the arm, stopping him before he could get very far. "Jordan, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. It's this stupid mouth of mine. Sometimes, I say things without thinking about the consequences first." She tried pulling him back to the ground—thankful when he complied. "How did you parents die?" She asked, not sure if that was a good idea, but it was too late.

There was a brief pause before Jordan said anything. It appeared as if he was trying his hardest not to cry. Why oh why did she hat to say what she did? Big, fat, stupid mouth! "They died when I was only seven years old," he started, closing his eyes as if he was trying to remember exactly what happened. Or maybe, he was just trying to forget that she was here. She couldn't help but hate herself for being so insensitive. "There was a fire," his voice began to quiver. "I didn't mean for it to happen. My mother had lit a few candles one day and she and my father had left the room only for a moment, but that moment was long enough for me to set the house on fire." Jordan brought his voice down to barely a whisper. She had to strain to hear what he was saying. "I-I only wanted to smell the candles. Mother had said they smelled like candy canes. I didn't believe her though. The candles were up on the piano, and I had to stand on my tip-toes in order to get the candles down. I was a small seven year old. Anyway, I still could barely reach and I ended up knocking two of the candles over onto the floor. It was too late by the time my parents came running into the room."

By this point, Jordan was full on sobbing and shuddering violently. It was as if he was reliving that tragic moment. He then began muttering incoherent words and rocking back and forth on his knees, his arms wrapped around himself, as if doing that was the only thing keeping him upright. Sabine had to try and reach him, before he was unreachable. "Jordan!" She shouted, while shaking him, trying to get his attention. "Jordan, listen to me. You're not there. You're here at the academy. Open your eyes Jordan, please. You're scaring me."

At that, Jordan's eyes snapped open. She almost didn't recognize him because of the haunted look in his eyes. It was scary and Sabine hated seeing him like that. After a moment, Jordan's eyes began to clear and he seemed to finally recognize her. He collapsed in her arms, exhausted from his outburst. "I can never forgive myself for what happened. I was the only one to survive the fire. My twin baby sisters lost their lives as well."

Sabine couldn't begin to imagine the guilt that Jordan had been carrying around for years. She then began to wonder how he had managed to survive, while the rest of his family burned to death. She was dying to ask him, but she didn't think that now was the time to be asking such questions. So, she did the hardest thing that she had ever done. She let it go.

Jordan sniffed and rubbed the tears out of his eyes with the back of his hand and sat up. He refused to look at Sabine for several minutes. No doubt he was having trouble dealing with the fact that he was crying like a baby, while Sabine—a girl—was in the same vicinity as he was. Boys weren't supposed to cry. They were supposed to be the strong and brave ones, while all the girls struggled with their emotions. It was the way life was supposed to work, right?

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Jordan looked up at her, and she couldn't help but feel relieved at that. She hated the thought of having him be mad at her. "Sorry 'bout that," he sniffed. "I know what you're probably thinking right now." How could he possibly know what she was thinking? Unless he was telepathic, which didn't seem very logical, seeing as telepaths didn't exist. "You're probably wondering how I survived, while my entire family was being burned alive."

Actually, that was exactly what she was thinking about. "Well, you're right about that. How did you escape that fire?"

"A neighbor had noticed our house was on fire and came inside to try to help. They had made it to my parents, but they shooed the neighbor away and told him to get me out first. I tried fighting with the neighbor, saying how it was my fault and how I needed to stay and be the one to die in that house. I had reached my sister, Delilah, and picked her up and brought her over to the neighbor (I hadn't realized that she was dead already. I was only seven, after all. I thought maybe she was just sleeping). I told him to take the baby and leave me. He refused, of course," he said with a chuckle. "The neighbor held Delilah in one hand and pulled me along by my arm. We had almost made it outside, but not before the right side of my body caught fire.

"Chris panicked, as you could imagine, and threw me onto the grass, rolling me over and over, trying to get the fire off me. It didn't seem to be working until someone spotted us and doused me with a gallon bucket of water." Jordan paused and then smiled; only it wasn't a friendly smile. It kind of scared Sabine a little bit. "You want to know the funny part? The fire didn't seem to have any effect on me. I remained unscathed. Not a burn to my body. I'm immune to fire, Sabine."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

He was immune to fire? How was that even possible? The truth was, that it wasn't possible. No person could ever be immune to fire. Jordan had to be telling her a white lie. "That's not possible," she whispered, having trouble putting her thoughts together. The only people she knew of that were immune to fire were Bible characters; Shadrach, Meshach, and Obednego. God was probably on that list too, considering he kept them from burning whilst in the furnace. Yeah, when Sabine was little, her parents used to make her go to Sunday school, until she was old enough to where she felt brave enough to tell them no more Sunday school.

"Oh, but it is," Jordan grinned, thrusting his fist in the air and gave a war cry. Definitely over reacting, don't you think? "Don't you see?" Jordan asked, shaking her shoulders a little too roughly. He was a little too excited about this. "We're invincible together, Sabine. I'm immune to fire, and hey, let's face it, you're kick-ass."

Sabine couldn't help but blush as he described her as 'kick-ass.' No one had ever told her she was kick-ass before and she rather liked it, even if it was coming from an eleven year old. It was nice to hear just the same. She had to hold onto Jordan's arms to keep him from bouncing up and down. It was making her dizzy. "I appreciate the compliment, Jordan, but don't you think you're just taking this a little far? You may be immune to fire, but what would I need you for?" She didn't exactly plan on getting herself blown up. No, fire was definitely not on her list.

Again, Jordan's eyes drooped dejectedly and Sabine couldn't help but kick herself, for like the tenth time since Jordan cam and interrupted her writing. Why was it so hard to accept his help? Hmm…was it because he was still just a child, no matter what he told her? Uh…yes! Just because someone had a cool trait, like being immune to fire, still didn't mean that she was going to change her mind. "Don't you see how much of a help I can be to you?" He whispered.

No, that was just it. She didn't see. "No, I don't, Jordan. You're a great kid, but not what I'm looking for. I'm sorry." Again, Sabine had to kick herself mentally. "You can't even fight," she whispered, before she could stop herself.

"You don't think I can fight?" He questioned, hopping up to his feet, pulling Sabine with him. Oh, great. He was going to use her as a punching bag. She probably deserved it, but she still didn't appreciate this at all.

"What are you doing, Jordan?" She shrieked, as he dragged her away from the corner. Sabine was just barely able to snatch her journal up off the ground before they scrambled out of the balcony. "Where are you taking me? She demanded, after they had worked their way to the academy.

"To show you that even eleven year olds are good for something," he seethed, still clutching rather tightly to her arm. She didn't even try to break free from his grasp because, let's face it, it wouldn't be worth the wrath of Jordan.

"That's not what I meant and you know it," she snapped at him, feeling annoyed at the fact that he was twisting her words around.

"It was implied and that's all it takes," Jordan paused so suddenly, that Sabine couldn't help but bump into him.

She looked around, trying to figure out where they were. She knew that she'd never been in this room before, seeing as she'd never seen it in her life. Sabine noticed that it was a training room of sorts. There were two bookshelves at the back wall of the room, filled with weaponry knick-knacks. There were things like swords, mallets, axes, and little spiky chains with a huge ball at the tail end of it. She couldn't help but shutter at the thought, worrying all the more that Jordan was going to use her as a punching bag and slice her open with one of those dangerous looking weapons—particularly, the spiked chain with the ball at the end.

"I don't want to die," she murmured, thinking that Jordan wouldn't hear her.

Unfortunately, he did and chuckled as she said that. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna fight you—yet," he snickered.

She felt more relieved than she would have liked, after hearing that. Sabine hadn't fought anyone since she gave up her wolf-essence, and to be honest, she didn't know if she would be able to fight anyone. She had always been in her wolf form during all her battles, and she had no idea how to use a sword. She then realized that she had to learn how to fight, if she was going to carry out her plan. It was probably a good thing Jordan brought her here. If anything, she would learn a few things that she would hopefully be able to use later, if she could remember them. "I'm very glad you aren't going to kill me," she chuckled. "I'm too young to die, and would hate to think that it would be an eleven year old that would take me down so easily."

Jordan chuckled at her statement, glad to see him in a better mood, and sat himself on a red mat, taking his shoes off. "Gustavo!" Jordan called out.

Sabine was very surprised when a young man of about twenty-five, appeared out of nowhere. Now, where had he come from? "Yes, master Jordan?"

"Gustavo, how many times must I tell you to simply call me Jordan?"

Gustavo shrugged and thought about that for a moment. "A lot," he said, with his thick Italian accent. "But I can't help it. I'm a servant, Master Jordan, and because I am, I feel that it is necessary to call everyone master or missus."

"Honestly, Gustavo," Jordan chuckled. "I'm eleven. Definitely not old enough to be anyone's master." Jordan turned and looked at Sabine, as if asking her a question, only she wasn't sure what that question was. "And don't you dare even think about calling Sabine here, missus."

Who was he to tell people what to call her? Maybe she wanted Gustavo to call her missus? Not everyone shared Jordan's opinion. To tell you the truth, she actually agreed with Jordan on this one. She had always thought it odd when servants called people master or missus. They were people too, even if they were servants. She just wasn't going to tell Jordan that she agreed with him. It would go to his head and he would never let her live it down.

"Thank you for the kind offer ma—I mean Jordan." It was probably going to take Gustavo awhile to ignore the 'master' part. Sabine couldn't help but notice Jordan beaming at the fact that Gustavo called him that and only that. "What service do you request of me, young one?"

"Would you be interested in helping me show Sabine how good of a fighter I am? She doesn't think I can fight and I want to prove her wrong."

A smile played on Gustavo's lips and he was grinning from ear to ear, reminding Sabine of a small school boy. She didn't think that Gustavo ever got to do anything like this, and thought it was nice of Jordan to invite him to do this with him. "Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you." She honestly didn't know if Gustavo could actually fight worth anything, but you can never judge a book by its cover. Sabine then turned to Jordan and realized how wrong she was to assume that he couldn't fight, just because he was eleven.

Jordan grinned and waved him off with a flick of the wrist. "Ha! I've never been more sure about anything in my entire life. Don't go easy on me." He grabbed a sword and tossed one over to Gustavo, who caught it without thinking. The man had great reflexes.

"Shouldn't we use practice swords, young one, just in case?" Gustavo had a good point. She didn't want to see him or Jordan getting hurt. This fight was sure going to be interesting, though. She thought excitedly, as she sat Indian style on the ground, in the corner of the room, where hopefully, she would be out of harm's way.

Sighing regrettably, Jordan nodded, though Sabine could tell that he wasn't very happy at all. He, no doubt, wanted to use a real sword. "Fine, but just so you know," he said, facing Sabine. "I'm excellent with a real sword."

Sabine couldn't help but chuckle at him, as he grabbed two practice swords, which resembled the real ones, except the blades were blunt, so it wouldn't hurt—much—if it were to stab you. "I believe you," she waved him off, as Jordan and Gustavo took their stance."

"Are you ready to lose, old man?" Jordan taunted at Gustavo, as he bounced from one foot to the other, his feet a good few feet apart. Who stands like that? Sabine chuckled to herself.

"In your dreams, little boy," Gustavo grinned, as he took the first swing.

Jordan, however, was too quick for Gustavo, and he managed to duck and weave, before Gustavo could strike him. "Not very good, are you old man?" Jordan snickered, after avoiding Gustavo's swipes several more times.

"You'd be surprised," he chuckled, as he managed to get a hit on Jordan's shoulder. Sabine couldn't help but wince at the sound of impact. And it was everything she could do to hold herself back to check and see if he was okay. She was pretty sure that Jordan wouldn't appreciate that very much.

Sabine was so into the fighting, that she failed to notice that Ethan had come into the room and squatted down beside her. "Where the hell have you been?" He questioned. She held her hand up at him, to silence him. She didn't really want to hear it. So maybe, it would have been smart to tell someone where she was going, before she disappeared for hours, but she was old enough to where she didn't have to tell anyone, and that's what really drove Sabine up the wall. "Do you realize that I've been looking for you all over the place? Do you know how worried I've been to wake up—in your bed—and find that you're not in the bed with me? And then, asking everyone in the academy about your whereabouts to learn that no one has seen or heard from you all morning."

Anger welled up inside Sabine and even though they had made love last night, she still wanted to slap him silly, for treating her like a child and well, she had some news for him. She wasn't a child and could do whatever the hell she wanted. Screw her non-swearing policy. "Can't you see that I'm busy?" She inquired, pointing at the other two, who were still fighting and hadn't even noticed that someone else had entered the room—uninvited, nonetheless. "When are you going to get it into that thick head of yours, that I'm not a child," she seethed, never taking her eyes off of Jordan and Gustavo. She was too angry to look at Ethan, for the time being.

"I never said that you were a child, Sabine," he sighed. "Who are they?" He asked, changing the subject, as if noticing them for the first time.

Sabine groaned inwardly, it was impossible to hate him for very long, no matter what she told herself. "The boy is Jordan and the man, Gustavo."

She glanced at Ethan, who appeared to be studying the two very intently. "Yes," he murmured. "I've seen Gustavo around the academy. He's a servant, isn't he? I've never seen the boy though," he noted.

Just as Sabine was getting ready to respond to Ethan, Jordan and Gustavo stopped fighting and Jordan ran over to her side, ignoring the fact that Ethan was there too. "So, what say you, now?" Jordan asked with a grin. "You can't say that I can't fight after that."

That was true. Jordan had walked away with only a bruise on his neck, where the first strike had hit him. Gustavo, on the other hand, was limping and rubbing his left elbow. "I give you some credit ma—Jordan," Gustavo winced, as he paused next to them. "I will never question your mad fighting skills ever again."

"Gustavo's right," she chuckled, high fiving Jordan, who just happened to notice Ethan's presence. "I will never doubt you again."

"Good," he smiled, glaring at Ethan. It was clear that Jordan didn't like him. "Who is he?" He asked.

"This is my boyfriend, Ethan," she introduced Ethan, putting a hand on his arm.

Jordan didn't like that at all. He suddenly turned around and ran out of the room. "Jordan, Wait!" She shrieked. "Do you see what you've done?" Shouting at Ethan, as she then turned and ran after Jordan, hoping to find him before he got too far.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

She couldn't believe that Jordan was jealous of Ethan. He was only eleven. Did he really think that he stood a chance with her? Ha! Not in a million years. She knew that he was only five years age difference, but he was five years too young. Maybe, if he was older, things might be different. No, probably not even then. He was cute and all, but Sabine was with Ethan, there was nothing that would stand in her way, when it comes to him.

Sabine searched the entire academy for Jordan. She had almost given up, when it dawned on her, that he quite probably was up on the third floor balcony. He did mention that was his hiding space for years. She didn't know how that could have slipped her mind. If she would have thought of the third floor balcony sooner, that would have been one of the first places she would have looked.

Wasting no more time, Sabine skipped the rest of the way to the balcony. She arrived and quietly peered onto the balcony and was relieved when she saw him leaning over the ledge. His arms were outstretched and he appeared to be tearing something up.

Taking a deep breath, Sabine made her way to Jordan. She couldn't help but wonder if coming up here would be such a great idea. Well, it was too late now. He probably heard her coming before she was outside. "Jordan," she whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder, which he tried to shrug off and move away from her. She didn't like to admit this, but that kind of really annoyed her, even though she knew it shouldn't have. "Look at me, Jordan!" She tried turning his shoulders so that he was facing her.

"Go away," he murmured. "Can't you see that I want to be alone?" He turned away again, and pulled another piece of paper out of his pocket and began to tear it in half.

Sabine was curious now. She had to know what was on that paper. "What is that?" She asked curiously, as she tried taking it from his hand.

"Nothing," he murmured, but it was too late. Sabine had managed to snatch the paper from his hands, and regretted it as soon as she did that. What was on the paper was her face. It was a drawing—a really good drawing of her. There was so much detail in the drawing that it made her want to cry. He managed to capture her blushing slightly, and her eyes were looking downward, as if trying to avoid contact with someone. And the grin on her face was the same grin she wore whenever Ethan flirted with her.

"Is this me?" She stupidly asked, when she knew very well that it was indeed her. She hoped that by asking, Jordan, it would distract him.

Jordan nodded slowly, trying to avoid her gaze at all cost. "Yeah," he whispered.

"It's beautiful," she told him truthfully.

His face lit up when she said that and he smiled. Sabine couldn't help but sigh in relief. Good, it would be easier talking to him when he was happy. "Do you really like it?"

What kind of question was that? It was a stupid one, that was for sure. Nobody had ever done anything like that for her in her entire life. It was a sweet gesture on his part. "Of course I like it, you silly goose," she smiled, as she ruffled up his hair. "May I keep it?" She asked, hugging the drawing to her chest. It was a clever lie and she only hoped that Jordan would fall for it.

She was thankful when he did. "If you like it that much," he nodded.

"I do, honest. Now, I want to talk to you about something else." This was not a conversation in which she was looking forward to having. She was not a very big fan of turning people down, especially eleven year olds. But she had to do this, before she gave him the wrong idea, though it may already be too late in that department.

Once again, Jordan turned away. There was a grave expression on his face. "There's nothing to talk about," he frowned.

"Yes, there is. You're upset. Talk to me, Jordan."

His eyes flicked up at Sabine said that. "Do you really think I can talk to you about this? You're a girl. You have no idea how I'm feeling." Ouch, so that hurt. But he was wrong about that. She did know how he felt. Sabine had liked another guy when she was about thirteen, but he turned her down. He couldn't seem to handle the fact that she was a wolf. His dumping was probably the worst she could ever imagine.

Her and Steven had hung out the night before—even went bowling. All seemed perfectly fine at the time. Sabine had no idea the he was planning on dumping her. She wished that he would have told her sooner, rather than the next day—by, wait for it, a freaking text message! The message was horrible, considering the fact that her ex never talked like that. The message read 'fucking bitch, bye. Don't contact me again. It's over.'

Thinking about Steven brought tears to her eyes. "I do, though, Jordan. You're a great kid, but you're too young."

"So, it always comes down to the fact that I'm too young, huh? Did it ever occur to you that I'm more of a man that that boyfriend of yours? I've gone through things no one should have to go through. I've had to grow up faster than most kids. I could make you so happy."

That's just it, he was still a kid, and talking like this was just proving how young he really was. He still had some major growing up to do. Unfortunately, Jordan kept right on talking, not letting her get a word in edgewise. "If we had an argument, I'd let you win every one of them. You'd probably be right anyway. I'll shower you with gifts." Shower her with gifts? With what for money? "You wouldn't have to worry about another thing in your life." Funny, she didn't have to worry about anything now. Ethan was taking care of her and she knew he had a good inheritance and they wouldn't have to worry about money for several years.

"Jordan, stop," she told him, holding up her hand in the process. "That's nice, but I don't share the same feelings for year that you have for me. You are going to make some other girl very happy. I guarantee you that."

Anger flashed in Jordan's eyes. Ugh…she really hated this. When was she going to stop hurting people? Probably never. It was just part of who she was. People were going to have to learn to live with it. "I don't want any other girl, Sabine! Just because I'm eleven means I'm not allowed to have feelings? Well, let me tell you something. I do have feelings. Strong, strong feelings for you. I will never love another girl like I love you."

Sabine couldn't help but shake her head at him. He didn't love her. He doesn't even know what love means. "You don't love me Jordan. I don't think that you even really know what love means." Okay, so maybe it was wrong of her to say that.

"Did you really just tell me that? Maybe you're the one who doesn't know what love is? I do know that every time I see you, I get butterflies in the pit of my stomach. My hands get all clammy and my heart rate speeds up. Here, feel my palms. They're sweaty."

No, Sabine was not going to feel his palms. They may have been sweaty, but that could have also been from the fact that he was worked up and angry. Definitely not such a great excuse. "Jordan!" Sabine shouted, hoping to get his attention once and for all. "You. Do. Not. Love. Me!"

**ANN: Hey guys, sorry this chapter is so short. Hope you're enjoying this. Reviews would be nice, thanks!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Jordan glared at her angrily, his fists clenched in tight balls, as if he was trying to restrain himself from lashing out at her. "Who are you to tell me that? You're nobody, that's for sure. You have no idea how I'm feeling on the inside. You know what, Sabine? I just thought about something," he smirked evilly. Sabine really hated seeing him like this. It scared her just the tiniest bit and she was worried about what he was going to tell her. "You're not worthy of my love. I feel sorry for Ethan, because you're his girlfriend. I wonder if he really knows the real you?"

That left Sabine feeling pretty darn speechless. And it left her curious too, was she really like this to Ethan? She had been in sort of a daze for the past several months and she couldn't seem to remember how she had acted. No, there was no way that she was like he explained. He was just jealous. But no matter how hard Sabine tried, she couldn't seem to get this out of her head. It bothered her a great deal, more than it should have. "What is that supposed to mean?" She asked bitterly, raking a hand through her thick hair.

"Nothing, it means nothing," Jordan hissed, as he tried to get past her, but she had him blocked. She wasn't about to let him get past her that easily. He was going to explain himself, whether he wanted to or not.

"That doesn't sound like nothing to me! You're not going anywhere, until you explain yourself." So, she didn't know why she was so determined to hear this. It couldn't be very good news. They weren't a couple so it shouldn't have mattered—only, it did. Just let it go, Sabine. This shouldn't concern you. She scolded herself.

She could tell that Jordan would rather be anywhere but there. "I don't have to explain anything to you. You're not my girlfriend. Or have you forgotten that?" Sabine grabbed hold of his arm, willing him to stay. "Why do you care so much?"

Sabine sighed, she hated feeling so weak. Couldn't she be happy with Ethan? Of course, she had to go and make things way more complicated than they should be. "I'm sorry," she murmured, looking at the tiny specks on the pavement, at her feet. "You probably think I'm a horrible person and I don't blame you in the least bit. You're a good kid," Jordan opened his mouth in pretest, probably to tell her that he wasn't a kid, but she stopped him before he managed to say anything. "But that's all I can ever think of you as, and you have no idea how very sorry I am for having to hurt you like this, because I know you don't deserve to be treated like that. So, don't you see why it could never work between us? People would think that you're my brother."

"So, then let them," Jordan spoke up, in a harsh tone. "Do you really think that I honestly care what other people think about me? No, I've stopped caring for a long time now. Sabine," he whispered, moving closer to her. She swallowed several times, trying to get the frog, which suddenly appeared out of nowhere, out of her throat. "You don't have to say anything now," he gulped. "Just think about it, please? And I mean really, truly think about it. Don't give it some half-assed job and just forget about it as soon as you leave me. Will you at least do that for me?"

Without thinking about it, Sabine nodded. It was like her body was moving without her making it. It was a very weird feeling. "Okay," she muttered, still not really all there.

"Good," Jordan told her, leaning in even further, if that were even possible. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her lips. It was warm, so very warm. Before Sabine knew what was happening, Jordan had leaned in and kissed her on the lips. The kiss lasted for several minutes. She had never had a kiss like that, even from Ethan, who was much more experienced. It was almost as if Jordan was a pro at kissing, like he'd kissed several girls, but that was just insane. No eleven year old could be that experienced, right?

Finally, they pulled apart. But what really and truly confused her, was that she didn't want the kiss to be over. There was a small part of her that knew that this was wrong of her to feel like that, but it didn't seem to matter. She couldn't help but wish that he were kissing her again. Not knowing what else to do, she tried leaning in again, to kiss him. But unfortunately, Jordan stopped her and pushed her back ever so slightly. The really confusing part was that, that simple movement really annoyed her. Wasn't he the one who wanted to kiss her? Yet here he was, blocking her from doing so. It made no sense whatsoever.

Jordan chuckled at her as she did that. "Easy there girl, one step at a time."

One step at a time? No, she wanted all of him now. And by golly, she was going to get it, if it were the last thing she ever did. "No, Dammit! Come here you silly boy. I want to kiss you again." Seriously, what had gotten into her? It was only a few moments ago that she was trying to get him to see that he didn't love her. Oh dear, this was not a good thing.

Caving in and giving her what she so desperately wanted, Jordan kissed her again. It felt as if Sabine were melting and the only thing keeping her upright, was Jordan's arms. "What the hell is going on?" A voice rang out, quite angrily. Sabine knew that she should have recognized it, but she didn't, nor did she care that he was angry. It was as if no one in the world mattered any more, just Jordan.

"Go away," Sabine murmured, breaking contact with Jordan's mouth just long enough to say that, and immediately, resumed the kissing.

She felt a sudden jerk to her shoulder, and she was, to her dismay, ripped away from Jordan's arms. "Get off of her," he told Jordan, and Sabine then suddenly recognized the voice as Ethan's. The next thing she knew, Jordan was lying on the ground, his hand clasping his nose, where blood was now trickling down from it. What the crap had just happened? Sabine wondered, very confused.

She went to help Jordan up, but was roughly stopped by Ethan, who pulled her up to her feet and pushed her back, keeping her apart from Jordan, which oddly, bothered her. "What are you doing to him?" She shrieked, tugging on Ethan's arm.

"Teaching this boy a lesson," he growled. "He needs to know that he can't just up and steal other people's girlfriends, right from under their noses. Nice people don't do that to each other." Ethan let another punch hit Jordan in the gut.

That's when something changed inside Sabine. It was like she was set free from some sort of spell, like she could breathe again. Suddenly, she was repulsed by herself, like how could she have been so weak as to fall for something like that? She couldn't help but hate herself for doing what she did. She had to get Ethan off Jordan, before he seriously hurt him, which may already be too late. There was a glassy look in Jordan's eyes and he was barely moving. "Ethan, stop!" She shrieked, pouncing onto him, hoping it would stop him from beating on Jordan, any more than he already had. "You're hurting him. Stop!"

Thankfully, Ethan stopped and turned to face Sabine, she then was afraid that he was going to strike her. Well, better her than Jordan. Sabine couldn't help but quiver at the sight of his eyes, which scared her. She had never seen Ethan like this. And to be honest, she never wanted to see him like that again. "Oh, so you love him now?" Ethan asked, his voice saturated in disdain. You could hear the hatred in his voice, reminding her of nails scratching along a chalkboard. Definitely not a sound that one wanted to hear ever again.

"No, of course not," she told Ethan, trying to assure him that it was he whom she loved, but after this, she didn't know what to think anymore.

Ethan turned his attention back to Jordan. Her heart literally stopped beating. She was so frightened that he was going to kill Jordan right there. But he stunned her, by not hitting him again—thank God! "Get up," Ethan seethed. He grabbed Jordan by the shirt collar and pulled him off the ground, when Jordan hadn't moved quickly enough. "I said get up. You listen to me when I'm telling you something. You should be grateful that Sabine was here. She may have very well just saved your life. Now, get the hell out of here! Go, fast. I don't want to see your face ever again. You may not be so lucky next time." Not saying another word, Jordan fled the balcony, not even looking back at Sabine. The poor boy was probably too afraid to do anything other than what Ethan had told him to do.

"Don't you think that you're being just a little hard on him?" Sabine asked Ethan, more annoyed at him than ever.

"No. I probably wasn't harsh enough. That boy needs to be taught a lesson," he hissed.

"Ethan, come on. It didn't mean anything, I swear." There was a small, tiny part of her that wished she was still kissing Jordan. No, no, no, get that thought out of your head. He's too young, and you're with Ethan now. Sabine could only hope that her little pep talk would work. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be working. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop thinking about Jordan and the way his lips felt against hers. Stop it!

"It didn't mean anything, huh? Then why were your hands running all up and down his body? Tell me that! Sabine, he's just a boy, for crying out loud." She knew that! That's why she told him that it was never going to work between them.

"I know that, Ethan. That's why I told him that he and I were never going to happen."

Ethan crossed his eyes in confusion. "That's what the kiss was? 'Cause I don't think he understood the message."

"I honestly have no idea what happened. One minute, I was telling him that he didn't love me, and the next thing I knew, was that we were all over each other. It was like he had put me under some sort of a spell. I promise you that's what happened," She could only pray that Ethan believed her, but by the look on his face, made her believe that he didn't. Come on Ethan, you have to know that I will always love you and only you. Again, she wished that she were a telepathic. It would make conversations like these so much easier.

It still looked like Ethan was having a hard time believe her. "How can I be sure? I feel like I don't even know you anymore, Sabine." Ouch, that was a slap in the face, and it hurt like crap. She didn't like feeling this way and wished that things could be back to normal, before Jordan got in between them. Oh, Jordan, why'd you have to go and mess things up? She thought bitterly. "You've changed and you don't even know it," he mumbled, stepping around her.

No! Ethan couldn't leave her right now. She was pretty sure that she was going to go crazy if she was going to be by herself. "Please, don't go," she begged, holding onto him for dear life. "Tell me what I can do to make it up to you?"

Thankfully, he turned back to face her. His face wasn't as harsh looking as it was, for which she was grateful. She didn't think that she could have stood it much longer—him looking the way he did. "Be here with me, really be here," What was he talking about? She was always with him. "No more little stunts like this. Promise me that you'll cast your depression aside. You have no idea how much it kills me to see you so depressed. Step out of line, one more time, and you're out. I can't keep feeling like this Sabine, it kills me every time. I'm not some kind of superhero who can keep coming back from the dead. Because, as hard as it is for me to say this, that's what I feel like whenever I'm around you."

Sabine's heart broke slightly, as he said that. It was a wonder it could break anymore, seeing as it was already ripped to shreds, after everything that's happened. Yet, here it was, breaking even further. But, she was going to try, and really try to be there from now on. She only hoped that Ethan wouldn't change his mind. "I promise, Ethan. I really do. I want you to promise me something in return." She knew she didn't have any right to be making him promise her something after everything she's done, but she went on anyway, hoping and praying that he would listen to her, and not ignore her, like she so feared he would. "Promise me that you'll never leave me," Ethan nodded and he leaned in, kissing her fervently. Sabine than realized how much of a fool she'd been for acting like she did. She promised herself that it would never happen again.


End file.
